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Topic Review (Newest First)

11-21-2010, 06:46 PM

calemon

Yes, Saabs are "sludgers" as a rule. Use syn

11-21-2010, 04:09 PM

ED

Re: Saab Stories...LOL.

Good question!

I have owned a 1984 Saab 900 T for many years now. I recently purchased a 2001 530i. Both of these cars are expensive to run and to maintain. Frankly I think the SAAB is a better car, which I know that many here will not agree. They are designed to be much more user friendly, comfortable and fun to drive. They are great in the snow and rain. We SAAB owners are very partial to our cars. BMW's thens to have more pesky continuous little expensive problems. BMW are big expensive plastic toys. Saab as one of the previous posts suggests, needs to be serviced by an experience SAAB mechanic who you can rely on and trust. Today they are not an easy task to find. Go to SAABNET.com for a similar blog with lots of information.

If you cannot afford to spend between $1000. to $2000. per year on parts and repairs stay away from both of these vehicles.

11-21-2010, 02:51 PM

dsalinas

Careful with the Saab. I bought a 2002 Saab 9-5

Aero for my son and so far it has been reliable. We've had it for about three and a half years now. The only issues we have had was the passenger side seat heater would not shut off, and the rechargeable battery for the alarm system stops holding a charge after about 6 years and then the alarm goes off intermittently, usually at 3am. The fix is to replace the module at $400, or take the module out and replace the batteries and solder new ones in. Most importantly, we have learned that the engines have a serious problem with oil sludging because they decided to put the oil pan next to the exhaust header and the heat cooks the oil. The oil pickup can get clogged and starve the engine of oil. The way to prevent any problems is frequent oil changes which we've been doing. So far so good.

Keep in mind that the SAABs are mostly turbo for that vintage and if the previous owners have not been good about oil changes, you might be in for a nasty surprise if you need a new one. I think SAAB spec'd Mobil 1 and 10,000 mile oil change intervals since ~2000. Not sure if I'd run oil that long in a turbo motor, even if it's synthetic.

11-21-2010, 10:14 AM

jimlev

900 wasn't that ugly, my sister-in-law had a (m)

Saab 96 two stroke that she actually called Ezra. She wanted to name their son that but her husband refused so she got stick on letters and put the name on the back of the Saab.
I had a few friends that owned Sonetts, one guy thought it was the best since sliced bread...then he bought a 2002 and was hooked on bimmers.

11-21-2010, 07:43 AM

Eurodavid

fat fingers again...anyhow, I owned a

SAAB 900s from 1990 till 1996. It was my first European car. Put over 200,000 in that time frame, and drove it everywhere. It was, fortunately, very reliable, but that is because I think I got lucky (friends owned SAABs, did have much luck at all--always fixing it). The only thing that really sticks out in my mind about that 900S was two things:

1) it was so unbelievably ugly that it was a sharp-looking vehicle, if that makes sense to you, and:

2) the amount of cargo that 900S hatchback could carry was beyond unbelievable. Never seen a car like it before (and I used to own some American whales) and I've never seen a car like it since. I think it could still challenge most all SUVs today in terms of cargo capacity.

Horsepower: some is good, more is better, TOO MUCH is just right!
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." ~ Mario Andretti
"What’s behind you doesn’t matter." ~ Enzo Ferrari

11-20-2010, 01:43 PM

lezonebay

FWD car with a key on the floor and usually turbo

quirky styling too. The only Saab I actually liked and would buy is the Saabaru which was a Subaru WRX converted into a Saab. Thats one sweet thang. 4WD and Turbo and Subaru quality.

But seriously if you tight on the money but want a good wagon, the Subaru's are great. Parts prices same but you need less of it and they run forever.

Remember: Saab is but half a word. The full word is DamnSaab. I used to own one, so I know from bitter experience.

11-20-2010, 11:12 AM

BG

Re: should I buy? May depend on where you live

If you live in one of the states where you see a lot of Saabs, they are worth considering. Rhode Island and Massachusetts seem to have plenty of them. But if you live in a place where they are rare (as in my example, Mississippi), I think you would have a lot of frustration ordering parts, finding a skilled mechanic, finding a dealer with the diagnostic equipment. Will a GM dealer be able to help?

11-20-2010, 10:56 AM

jimlev

They are pretty good cars, but the parts cost (m)

just as much, if not more, than BMW parts, they are the size of a 3 series, so you might as well own a BMW.
We may be lunatics about our pride and joy, but they just tell saab stories on their forum.

11-20-2010, 09:36 AM

Bmw540san

Just search for Saab forum and see if they're

bunch a obsessive lunatics like us (this a compliment actually). That will tell you a lot about the popularity of Saabs (if any).

"Drive It Like You Stole It, A Sickness for Quickness"The Bottle Rocket "King of Spray" 2 Stage Nitrous OxideDare to be different and stand out among the crowd of me-to-cars!No guts, no glory!Tire smoke, not traction control!Zionsville all aluminum radiator to replace the 3 leak prone Nissens Radiators!